Film clip from Feather on Jazz: Jazz in the Concert Hall: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A 16mm motion picture film of an episode entitled “Jazz in the Concert Hall,” from the television program Feather on Jazz. It consists of a single reel of positive, black-and-white, 16mm acetate film with bilateral variable-area optical sound. It opens with jazz expert Leonard Feather introducing himself. He then talks about "jazz and the concert hall" and Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington's contributions to the acceptance of jazz music, especially through their performances at Carnegie Hall. The film also features Lionel Hampton performing on the vibraphone. Feather then describes the contributions of Norman Granz, the jazz producer and promoter, and his concerts at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Auditorium as a slideshow depicting both Granz and the Philharmonic plays on the screen. The slideshow then segues into Billie Holiday performing "Now or Never" in the 1950 film Count Basie and his Sextet. There is also a scene of Duke Ellington and his orchestra performing at a 1949 event. The film ends with Feather seated at a desk and remarking, "So today, thanks to pioneer work of artists like Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, the jazz concert is an accepted musical event all over the world.”

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1967
• Created by: Leonard Feather, British American, 1914 - 1994
• Subject of: Leonard Feather, British American, 1914 - 1994
• Subject of: Duke Ellington, American, 1899 - 1974
• Subject of: Lionel Hampton, American, 1908 - 2002
• Subject of: Billie Holiday, American, 1915 - 1959
• Subject of: Benny Goodman, American, 1909 - 1986
• Owned by: Ernie Smith, American, ca. 1925 - 2004
• Type: sound films
• Type: black-and-white films (visual works)
• Type: 16mm (photographic film size)
• Medium: acetate film
• Dimensions: Duration (digital file): 00:08:10
• Dimensions: Physical extent (film): 300 ft
• Place depicted: New York City, New York County, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2015.275.18.1a
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Anonymous Gift in memory of Ernest (Ernie) R. Smith, Jazz Historian
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.